Interviewed by Joelle Seligson This interview appeared in the September/October 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. How can a child follow the paths of a musically inclined mother and a science-oriented father? Chevy Humphrey, president and CEO of the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix, managed to do both. She worked with the Houston and Phoenix symphonies […]
Q&A with Chevy Humphrey Read More »
We asked public relations (PR) professionals from science centers and museums around the world to send us their best practices, guidelines, practical tips, and pieces of advice. Here’s what they told us. (This is an extended version of an article that appeared in the September/October 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine.) Thanksgiving Point is currently in
Best Practices in Public Relations Read More »
By Laura Huerta Migus From Dimensions July/August 2013 “It is diversity that drives innovation: a diversity of perspectives, of industries, of cultures. When we bring together these different perspectives, we have a far better chance of breaking new ground.” —Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect Over the past two decades, the United States and
Recruiting for Inclusion and Innovation Read More »
By John Fraser, Martin Weiss, Beverly Sheppard, and Kate Flinner From Dimensions July/August 2013 Educators at science centers, zoos, and other informal science education institutions (ISE) work in distinct traditions. Yet, funders often lump them into a single class of ISE environments. Even science centers and zoos themselves may imagine that they compete for funds
Science Center and Zoos: Creating Public Value Through Complementary Strengths Read More »
By Jennifer Jenkins From Dimensions May/June 2013 WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology in Bloomington, Indiana, strives to be not just a destination, but also a valuable community asset. Open since 2003 in its current downtown location, WonderLab is a small museum—7,600 square feet (700 square meters) of gallery space—with fewer than 15 full-time
Personalizing Visitor Service in a Small Museum Read More »
IN THIS ISSUE May/June 2013 Free-choice learning is the hallmark of science centers and interactive museums. But many institutions are taking this idea a step further by exploring strategies for personalizing the visitor experience—before, during, or after the visit. Some approaches are high tech, like compiling a visitor’s on-site experiences onto a personalized webpage. Others
Dimensions, May/June 2013—Personalizing the Visitor Experience Read More »
By Keith Ostfeld From Dimensions May/June 2013 Society has reached a point where everyone desires customized services and products—from coffee to computers to museum experiences—that meet their needs, expectations, and aesthetics. With today’s easy access to phenomenal computational power through personal mobile technologies (PMTs) like smartphones and tablets, we have new avenues to customize museum
21-Tech: Engaging Museum Visitors Using Mobile Technologies Read More »
This is an extended version of an article that appeared in the May/June 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. Science center and museum professionals from around the world share their experiences using technology—including smartphones, barcodes, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags—to personalize the visitor experience. The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) opened in New York City in
A Custom Fit: Personalizing Experiences Using Technology Read More »
This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the May/June 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. Scitech has been running adults-only nights twice a year since 2009, the year we turned 21. We started doing these evenings as we realized that there must be an increasing number of young
By Margaret Glass From Dimensions March/April 2013 Today’s youth grow up in a digitally networked world. With cell phones, laptops, and tablets, via social media platforms, videos, and podcasts, they connect to each other and to their world like never before. Yet with only a few exceptions, the digital signal gets dropped at the door
Learning Labs: Transforming Youth from Digital Consumers to Creators Read More »
Interviewed by Joelle Seligson This interview appeared in the March/April 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. Whether it’s the world’s biggest wardrobe malfunction or MacGyver meets Survivor, Ainissa Ramirez knows that generating interest in science requires a hook. A professor at Yale University, Ramirez prefers the title “science evangelist”—in her words, a person who “takes the
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By Lucilla Minelli From Dimensions January/February 2013 Water is critical for sustainable development and indispensable for human health and well-being. With this in mind, and to accelerate the implementation of internationally agreed goals relating to water, the UN General Assembly declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC). The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Building Peace and Sustainable Development Through Water Cooperation Read More »
This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the January/February 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. “If they had more special exhibitions, then we’d get a membership and come more often.” —Science Museum of Minnesota visitor, August 2011 Our most recent audience survey, conducted in 2011 (n=830), suggests that
IN THIS ISSUE November/December 2012 In recent decades science museums have made significant progress in meeting the needs of visitors with a range of disabilities—physical, cognitive, and behavioral. But much more remains to be done for the inclusion of people with disabilities to become the norm. In this issue, we explore what it means to
Dimensions, November/December 2012—Accessibility: Breaking New Ground Read More »
By Christine Reich From Dimensions November/December 2012 Science museums hold great promise for engaging learners of a broad range of abilities and disabilities in informal science learning. As institutions known for their interactive and self-directed activities, science museums already exhibit many of the principles of universal design for learning that foster equitable learning environments for
Changing Practices: Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Science Museums Read More »
This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the November/December 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine. My ideal museum experience is memorable. It requires only one cool exhibit experience where I spend significant time, engaged in a way that taps into previous interests and expands my thinking. It makes
This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the September/October 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine. The central focus for science centers is serving the communities in their region. Many of the science festivals popping up in the United States are led by museums, reflecting the responsibility that science
Should exhibitions be the central focus of what science centers and museums do? Read More »
This is an extended version of an article that appeared in the September/October 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine. Science center and museum professionals from around the world share ways that they are engaging visitors in hands-on innovation. In July 2012, the Exploratorium launched its Global Tinkering Studio Initiative at the Saudi Aramco Cultural Program,
Inspiring Visitors to Tinker, Create, and Innovate Read More »
By Julie Bowen From Dimensions July/August 2012 I have been wondering for a while why recent ASTC annual conferences have had fewer sessions about exhibits than they did five or 10 years ago. Have exhibits reached a point of perfection and become a craft needing only minor tweaking around the edges? Have museums run out
The Future of Exhibits: Where Are We Headed? Read More »
IN THIS ISSUE July/August 2012 As a key part of our commitment to our members, ASTC is dedicated to providing vision and direction by anticipating trends and helping our member institutions to prepare for new opportunities and challenges. In this issue, we look at a selection of current and future trends that shape and influence